Although not a “can’t put it down novel” I began to adore the conniving bigots that are Hackwell, Hammerhard and Mrs. Norval after 120 pages, and actually began to dislike the perfect characters of Lola and Julian. I say this because I feel that none of these open-minded and exceptional people are confronted with any sort of moral dilemma or question of honor, Ruiz de Barton constantly and sometimes not plausibly uses them to evoke sympathy from the reader. While I felt it at the beginning, it began to run a tad dry after around 250 pages of them being screwed around by either the government or non-Catholic chivalrous ministers turned war heroes.
That being said, however, Ruiz de Barton is certainly a writer of verbose style and eloquence, which some of the class interpreted as being tedious, when in fact she is a writer of talent not just in the context of someone whose second language is English but in general as well. An example would be when discussing one of the more subversive characters, Mrs. Norval, on page 136:
“So let us be charitable with her—although she was never known to be so towards anyone—and learn not to pitch our voices so high as she did at the beginning of her song, for we may also find how to difficult to is to maintain such diapason.”
I found myself questioning my own ignorance as I read her use of words such as “pusillaminity”, “maelstrom” and “opprobrium” without any arrogance as I spent the majority of the book compiling a vocabulary list.
I have to question my previous self for saying last week the book is not a feminist novel, when clearly the lack of women’s rights and imposed weaknesses permeate much of the prose and internal soliloquies. What surprises me is how Burton allows Hackwell’s character to maintain such intellectual power over even the most cunning of female characters (Lola). Although preying on her young age and naivety, I felt that his intentions should have been questioned more, as he is so conspicuously shrewd and deceitful from the beginning of the novel. Even someone as manipulative as Mrs. Norval was blind to his narcissistic ways because of his charm, while we as the readers must sit back without feeling much suspense anticipating his next sneaky move.
Ruiz de Burton, as much as she should be credited for her insight on the struggles of women in her time, does not seem to extend her sympathy towards blacks, as even Julian on page 241 says: “I should have my freedom. If the negroes have it, why shouldn’t I?” It’s a tad insensitive, considering the book’s major theme is about prejudice. Then again, it’s dialogue, not narrative, and only so much can be inferred.